Wednesday, October 19, 2011

We Moved!

We are no longer a blogspot. We loved it here but we decided it was time for our own .com! So let me introduce you to:


NerdPilgrimage.Com!!!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Texas Wildfires & Almost-Zombie Dog

Photo: Mayra Beltran / © 2011
I'm going to take this time to discuss something non-nerdy today but something that has had a huge impact on my state.

In Texas we are dealing with massive wildfires that has destroyed hundreds of homes. In fact, I live so close to the fires that my entire neighborhood is covered in smoke. To help out, I volunteered at Austin Pets Alive and was just amazed by how much people were donating. In fact, we had to temporarily store some supplies because some shelters have too much stuff and we have to wait until tomorrow before they start accepting them again.

What else struck me was a dog I saw while I was helping with some Thank You letters. First of all, I kept hearing about some dog who got attacked by a snake. Everyone was horrified about what happened to this dog and despite being so badly damaged, he's still a sweet dog. So, as I'm finishing up some letters a volunteer comes in freaking out and yelling, "I shouldn't have looked!!!"

Curious, I got up to see what she was screaming about. In front of me was an adorable, but slighly roughed up dog that had patches of fur missing and some scars. The lady tells me that's the dog with the snake bite. My first thought is, "Awww, he's not all that bad."

Then the dog turned his head.

HE HAS A GOD DAMN HOLE IN HIS FACE!
 
Photo Courtesy of Austin Pets Alive

I could literally see inside of his face! It was like a dog from a zombie movie but it was real... and not trying to eat my brain. (I had to mention SOMETHING nerdy...)For the most part, the dog was surprisingly well and he'll have surgery this Thursday. 

Edit: Austin Pets Alive is collecting donations for Happy, the Almost-Zombie Dog. Any amount will help!

Anyways, I'll be spending some of my time the next few weeks helping out. If you live in the Austin area, please donate or volunteer. If you are outside of Texas but would like to donate, try these two links:

+ Texas Wildfire Relief
+ Austin Disaster Relief
Saturday, September 3, 2011

It Shall Be Done

Hello visitor! If this website is acting a bit wonky it's because I'm working on the new layout. I'm getting annoyed with layouts so I'm determined to finish some time tonight.

Update: It is done! Unless there is any problems with this layout, I'm keeping it!
Thursday, August 18, 2011

Geeks Who Drink


Where: In over 100 pubs/bars in 13 states. Check the WHD website for more info.
Fandom: General
Price: Free


There is one thing that people everywhere enjoy, nerd or not, and that is winning free stuff.  Nerds don’t exactly have a history of winning the smaller battles (too busy planning for World Domination). Now we have Geeks Who Drink! What started in Denver, Colorado has spread across thirteen states! Nerds and Geeks are rejoicing that all the obscure bits of knowledge they acquired can be finally used for good!

What is this marvel that is Geeks Who Drink? Well, it’s a pub-quiz over movies, music, sex, video games and various other subjects while you drink yourself silly! Not only do you have a chance to win cool prizes but it’s free! There are only two reasons of why you would have to pay. The first is for charity and all that money goes to a good cause.  While that’s sweet, the second reason you would have to pay is if you are playing to win money. Winning money can make any nerd giddy.  

Note: While the event is free, it would be nice to support your local pub by buying some food and/or drinks. While you’re at it, just buy a round for everyone there.  Oh, don’t forget to tip the waiters. They have to deal with your nerdy drunkass.  

You can have up to six people on a team or you could always choose to be forever alone. Don't know anyone but want a team? That's OK because you could just join other teams or create one with the people whose friends "forgot to come." Make sure to be creative with your team name and pick something cool or highly inappropriate.  

Here are a few of my favorite team names that actually exist:
  • Hitler Was Teased As A Kid
  • Lemon Party Like It's 1999
  • David After The Rapist
  • Condoms & Rattlesnakes Are Two Things We Don't Fuck With.
  • I Would Kill Myself Too If I Were Married To A Real Housewife

Funny enough, these are some nicer ones. There are quite a few even I’m too bashful to publish.

Geeks Who Drink is just too great of an experience to pass up. If there’s one going on in your area, check it out! If there isn’t a Geeks Who Drink in your neighborhood, I have a crazy idea for you: start one yourself! Whoa, I bet I just blew your mind.  Just go to the website to learn how to be the coolest geek in town. 


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The No Love Series - William Shatner Edition

Sci-Fi Legend or Anti-Nerd?
To finally stop ranting about William Shatner on my other posts, I've decided to make a whole category to people who you shouldn't waste your time with at conventions.

First of all, let me give you a bit of a background of how I came to dislike good ol' Shatner. (I made a convenient list at the bottom of this post if you don't want to read everything.) For the past few years I have worked for a family friend selling toys at comic conventions. It's seriously one of the funnest jobs to have for a talkative nerd like me.

The thing is, I rarely go out of my way to meet the special guest unless it's someone I really want to meet. Instead, I let my customers and friends tell me their celebrity encounter stories. Since I started the convention lifestyle, I have always heard the whispers and the rants about a particular celebrity who everyone loves and adores until they meet him: William Shatner. I never paid any attention to these stories. I've come to learn that the professional convention attendees are hard to please. It wasn't until Mr. Shatner and I ended up in the same convention that I knew all the rants were completely justified.

My first encounter with Mr. Shatner's insanity was when I was helping another friend with her booth. I was confused as to why she had to rearrange the back of her booth until a convention volunteer explained it to me.  Our dear Mr. Shatner would only be signing autographs on the stage and so us common folk would not take pictures of him, the stage was to be covered up. That meant if you had a booth next to the stage, you had to move your things so they can properly cover Mr. Shatner up. It's a pet-peeve of mine that Special Guest don't like their picture taken at conventions but it's something I've learned to accept. What really irked me was that he had to use the stage! All the other guest were put in another room where volunteers stopped stray photos from being taken. (A job, I sadly once held. It's not fun.)

Out of curiosity, I checked how much an autograph was. Normally, most autographs cost about $10 to $25. At that point, the most expensive I've seen would be about $50 but most of the time it came with a photo-op as well. When I saw how much Mr. Shatner was charging, I instantly knew I would never like him again. For only $75 you could get your own autograph! Want a photograph as well? Well get your wallets ready to shell out another $75! Yup, that's right. If you want BOTH a photo and an autograph, you would have to pay $150. (That price was from about a year ago. From what I hear, the price has gone way up.)

Oh, that is not all folks. Let's say you are willing to pay for all that stuff. First of all, don't feel ashamed, you are not alone. Many people save everything they can just to meet their childhood hero. Unfortunately, it leads to why I truly despise the man. All my customers were so disappointed and angry for "meeting" him. The process to get something signed takes about 5 seconds. Sometimes he'll even look up and say, "Hi." Think Mr. Shatner will take the time to say something to an innocent, naive kid who worships the ground he walks on? Nope, not even. I even heard stories where he was plain out rude to people. Fans work so hard to meet their heroes and it's completely unacceptable that he should treat fans badly.

Now, I know what's coming next. You want to defend him. You want to say its hard for a legend like him to always be nice. Maybe it was a bad day. Maybe he's sick and tired of Trekkers. Well, if you want to defend Mr. Shatner, go out, meet the guy, then come back and tell me about your encounter. Until I hear a decent story, I will stand by that he's the worst person to visit during a convention.

Here's that small, convient list I promised you:
  • Mr. Shatner is a jerk to fans. All of them. Even kids.
  • Mr. Shatner overcharges just to get something signed.
  • Mr. Shatner is a diva.
  • Mr. Shatner is such a jerk, he's name was turned into a curse word.
Avoid the guy to save yourself time and money.  Don't get Shatnered.
This is a list of Harry Potter Conventions that are still currently active. Please contact me at nerdpilgrimage@yahoo.com if you will be attending any of these conventions and would like to write about your experiences there. Also, please contact me if you see any mistakes or changes in this list.

+ Ascendio - Orlando, Florida
Next Convention: July 12 -15, 2012

+ LeakyCon - Orlando, Florida
Next Convention: 2012

+ PotterCon - Online Convention
Next Convention: September 7 – September 9, 2012
Sunday, July 31, 2011

Doctor Who Conventions

This is a list of Doctor Who Conventions that are still currently active. Please contact me at nerdpilgrimage@yahoo.com if you will be attending any of these conventions and would like to write about your experiences there. Also, please contact me if you see any mistakes or changes in this list.

+ Chicago TARDIS - Lombard, Illinois
Next Convention: November 25-27, 2011

+ Gallifrey One - Los Angeles, California
Next Convention: February 17-19, 2012

+ Hurricane Who - Orlando, Florida
Next Convention: November 4th-6th, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011

Bookworm Heaven


What: Bookworm Heaven
Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fandom: Bibliophile
Price: Varies


I have to confess that Buenos Aires was actually not my first choice of where I would spend my 4-day weekend. Now, I am so happy I went and can't believe what an amazing trip it was. At the time I was staying in Cordoba, Argentina for school and was trying to figure out the cheapest place to go. I knew nothing about Buenos Aires except what my host family kept telling me which was basically that I would have my stuff stolen and possibly kidnap if I'm not careful

Just image my surprise (and nerdgasm) I had when I saw a street littered with bookstores. I wanted to weep for I had accidentally discovered that Buenos Aires is actually Bookworm Heaven. Oh, dear reader, this one little street was just the beginning! Scattered throughout the city are bookstores of new and old. You can easily find a old, antique shop that has more stories within it’s walls than between the pages of the wonderfully dusty books on it’s shelves. Right next to it will be a cool, modern bookshop where the stories tell of art and music. Hell, I even found a sleek looking comic book shop where the walls were lined with mangas and comics. Of course, you’ll come across those crummy shops where you’ll just find books like Yo by Ricky Martin or the billionth biography with a “new” perspective of Che Guevara’s life. 

In the midst of this jungle of books, I had discovered what I believe to be the South American Bookstore version of the Holy Grail: El Ateneo.





El Ateneo


Unfortunately, the photo above does no justice to the true beauty of El Ateneo. (Trivia: This was taken with my iPhone because my regular camera was stolen while in Cordoba, Argentina.) My dear reader, if you are a true bookworm, this is a place you must visit. While it’s selection is borderline average, the beauty of the building more than makes up for it.  At one time it was a theatre but now the stage is a cafe! The balcony seats were transformed into comfy little areas to sit and read the latest edition of psychology books or the newest best seller.

Regardless of what bookstore you choose, you’ll have the time of your life as you sit down, sipping amazingly good Argentinean coffee while badly translating some random book! Maybe you’ll end up on the highest level at El Ateneo, people watching and creating characters of your own to write about. Perhaps you’ll be like me and have a fine time geeking out over “¿Dónde está Wally?”






Oh Wally, you're so silly.

More Reading on El Ateneo and the bookstores of Buenos Aires, Argentina 
+ Article: City of Bookstores

My first article on a brand new website! Are you as excited as I am? Yeah, you are. So what’s my first post about? Volunteering. 

Excited yet? You should be. 

I can’t stress how much I love volunteering for Sci-Fi conventions. In the past three years, I’ve made it a point to not pay for any major event, and I haven’t. Along the way, I have learned a lot of lessons and wish to pass some of that knowledge on to you. For today, I’ll just discuss the Pros and Cons of the wondrous world of volunteering: Nerd Edition. 

Pros:
“Look, ma! I saved you loads of cash!” Don’t have $75+ laying around for the Comic-Con that finally rolled into your town or $200 for the fandom centered convention? Yeah, neither do I but I still get in. You should use all that money you saved not paying for a ticket to get that limited edition, super cool action figure you wanted since you were 12 or whatever.   

“You spent how much on that thing? Well, I got it for free. Sucker.” Now, I’ll admit you may not always get free stuff, but you usually do. So far I’ve gotten free toys, more posters than what I know what to do with, movie tickets, free autographs and art (which I’ll discuss more below), t-shirts, movies, and hugs.  If there is something you got that you don’t want, then you could just sell it. (Anyone want 20 Dungeon & Dragons booster decks?)

“Oh. My. Gawd. I loved you in that one movie! Sign my boob?”  Laugh as those poor suckers wait HOURS in line to pay $25 for an autograph and/or a photo.  Most actors are kind enough to do that stuff for free when it comes to the volunteers. Don’t pester them for the stuff though, you’ll have to be patient and sometimes wait to the end of the show. The other option is to assist the actors. (If you’re a newbie to the convention, don’t expect to get this job right away. It’s sought out by 85% of the volunteers.) I got to hang out with Lou Fucking Ferrigno for two hours! For two hours, The Hulk relied on me. I had a chat with Luciana Carro of Battlestar Galatica about pie. I got to hear Tom Felton say a couple of rude words about William Shatner because he was treating fans badly. It was awesome. 

“Can you draw Batman fighting Predator in space?” While most people go crazy for helping the actors, I personally have more fun with the artist. Hell, I even made out with one! … but that’s another story. I have gotten so many things either discounted or free. One tradition amongst volunteers is to have our t-shirts signed and drawn on by the artist. It’s just another special little treat. 

“True story, bro.” You have so many adventures, you could write a novel. 

Cons
“Wow. William Shatner is a douche bag.” It has been said many times, don’t meet your heroes. While I am happy that I’ve meet all these wonderful actors, I don’t see them as anyone special. (Besides Lou Herrigno. He’s THE Hulk!) I blame that on my first convention where I met an actor I adored (not William Shatner) and he was a total jerk. At another convention, my poor fangirl heart was broken to find out one of my heroes is a womanizing creep. I wasn’t allowed to help him out because other women had issues with the way this particular actor was treating them. 

“Work, peon! Work!”  At the end of the day, volunteering is still work that you are pretty much doing for free.  Depending on the convention, you may even be treated like crap. If you’re a newbie, you might not always get the job you want. No matter how cool and relaxed the place is, you have to remain professional and make sure you please as many people as possible. 

“Yeah… that panel finished an hour ago.” The worst thing that can happen is that you miss something you were really looking forward to. You get caught up with juggling a million things and forget to take a break during the one panel you were looking for.

So there you have it! A whole, organized list of pros and cons about  volunteering for conventions (or anything, really.) In the end, you'll know if volunteering for super cool stuff is for you or not.
Saturday, July 23, 2011

Nerd Pilgrimage

Hello,

My name is Steffie and I am a nerd. I love books, movies, video games, manga, comics books, and musicals of the Harry Potter persuasion. More than anything though, I love to travel. A thought cross my mind one day and I found myself asking, "Can't I combine my insanely nerdy addictions with my love of travel?" As it turns out, yes I can! There are many nerdy destinations to visit all over the world, you just have to find them. My goal is to make it easier for others and myself to find these places and events.

I was shocked there was not a single place dedicated for traveling nerds. I am here to change that. I will actively seek out the best places, hangouts, and conventions for nerd-kind everywhere! I will make it easier for nerds everywhere to get to the holiest of places within their fandoms.

This is Nerd Pilgrimage.